1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for lubricating railroad rails or for applying friction modifiers to railroad rails.
2. Description of Related Art
In the operation of railroads, it has long been the practice to apply grease or friction modifier materials onto railroad rails, such as to the top of rails or sides of the rails at curves, turnouts, switches, in some cases, the sections of the track immediately before a switch, and periodically spaced along the length of the track. Such lubricants and friction modifying materials, such as grease, can either reduce or increase the friction where necessary to improve train performance and reduce wear on both the rails and the train wheels. In the case of a friction modifying material, i.e., a material that increases the friction between the train wheel and the rail, the practice has been to apply the friction modifier material to the top of the rail to contact the train wheels. Oftentimes, the friction modifying material does not reach the center of the rail or substantial amounts of friction modifying material are wasted by dripping or pouring along the sides of the rail. One such device used to apply friction modifying material to the top of the rail is disclosed in International PCT Application No. PCT/US00/09269 entitled “Top of Rail Applicator”, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Typically, a skirt can be used in conjunction with the top of a rail applicator device to provide and/or direct friction modifying material towards a surface of the rail. However, excess friction modifying material can be wasted by flowing over or on top of the skirt. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome this limitation.